This park was established by Decision 174/2001/QĐ-TTg, dated November 8, 2001, by the Prime Minister of Vietnam on upgrading Pù Mát Preservation Zone.

The park covers an area of 94,804 ha, spreading in three districts of Tương Dương, Con Cuông and Anh Sơn of Nghệ An Province.

The Social Forestry and Nature Conservation in Nghe An Province (SFNC) surveys and research have confirmed the presence of five mammals endemic to Indochina: northern white-cheeked gibbon, red-shanked douc, saola, Truong Son muntjac and Annamite striped rabbit.

The SFNC studies also confirmed the continued occurrence a number of other globally threatened mammals at Pu Mat, including Assam macaque, Ussuri dhole, Indochinese tiger and Indian elephant.

A "substantial" population of 455 critically endangered northern white-cheeked crested gibbons (Nomascus leucogenys) have been recently found living in the Pù Mát National Park in Nghệ An Province, northern Vietnam, near the border with Laos.